Choosing The Suppliers For Your Wedding Day

Think of yourself as an employer …

So you have hired a DJ, a photographer, a venue, a celebrant, a decorator, a hair and make up stylist, a cake maker, a venue and probably quite a few other suppliers. That is great, but did you stop to think of yourself as the employer of this day and consider if all the “staff” you have employed are going to play nice together?

As in the real world, sometimes people might be very capable of performing by themselves and they are brilliant at performing their particular task, but put this person in a team with someone else they conflict with and all of a sudden the quality of their work suffers.

It’s the same for a wedding. Think of all your suppliers as parts of the machine that need to fit together and cooperate with the other suppliers to get the most out of your day. Now whilst it is true that all professionals SHOULD be professional enough to not conflict with others, sadly this is not always the case.

Real world example …

I have personally been to weddings where I have seen the videographer and the photographer both believe that THEY are the ones entitled to a certain position and will both walk in front of each other’s shots without care for the other. The person that suffers here is the bridal couple paying them for their professionalism, yet they are fighting like school kids behind the backs of the bridal couple.

Another experience I have encountered on more than one occasion with a particular photographer has ensured that I no longer recommend them. I was employed as the Master of Ceremonies. This meant that I was given a run sheet with the time line which I, as the professional master of ceremonies need to ensure is adhered to. This particular photographer, upon finding out I was the Master of Ceremonies thought they could use their familiarity with me to have me “push things along” so they could go home early.

I’m sorry … I was employed to do a job. That job is to ensure the time line is adhered to as closely as possible. I value my job and respect my clients wishes. If you, as the photographer, did not charge enough to make it worth your time to stay until the appropriate time, then maybe you should either charge more or get out of the game if you are not passionate about what you are doing!

The take away …

So, as you can see, you need to consider all your suppliers. Let them all know who your other suppliers are and ask them if they have worked with them before. Ask them what their honest, off the record opinions are of them. As the examples I gave above demonstrate, even a photographer can impact on your MC (who is responsible for the running of the reception). The videographer and photographer need to get along and be respectful of each other. Even the makeup and hair stylists can impact the photographer as they rely on the job being completed at the right time to ensure they get the right shots at sunset. If the make-up artist is even 10 minutes late, that stunning sunset photo you dreamed of might be that 10 minutes out of reach. Everything is connected. Ask the questions. Choose compatible suppliers.